The next generation of Canadian Mold Makers are getting Career Ready with Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ltd.

Career Ready is an experiential work placement program founded in 2019 by The Canadian Tooling and Machining Association (CTMA). It is designed to help people increase their skills and take advantage of the incredible job opportunities in the precision metalworking sector. The program covers machining, tool & die making, mold making, jig and fixture building, automation, additive manufacturing, and other related businesses.

In 2024, CTMA will support the creation of 300 Experiential Work Placements in the precision metalworking sector for new apprentices, high school graduates, post-secondary graduates or co-op students, job seekers looking for full-time employment, and existing employees looking to upskill.

Richard Janik is a Career Ready Monitor for CTMA. Monitors visit organizations that are using Career Ready. Their role is to ensure that the people employed through the program are being utilized and meeting the technical objectives set out for them as part of the program.

Janik says training in the early days of manufacturing was standardized and well-executed. Over time, manufacturers began to deploy new technology and processes to gain a competitive edge over their competitors. This caused a gap between the demand for highly skilled workers and the curriculum taught in the colleges.

“Training in this industry became increasingly difficult. A tool and die shop would bring in a duplicating machine in the 1970s or wire EDM technology in the 1980s. The colleges at that time may not have had access to that kind of technology to be able to teach that training; Not only with the technology itself but the application of that technology within a specific company.” Janik Says

This gap between training at the college level and the skills needed to thrive in this industry had to change and that’s where CTMA stepped in with the Career Ready Program.

“It’s a great program” says Brian Bendig, President at Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ltd. “People sometimes say you go a little bit backwards when training an individual. You’re not making the money back that you’re investing in them. That’s why programs like this are so important; It takes some of the risk out of hiring young people, jump starting new careers, and opening up career paths. I would encourage more shops to use it.”

The Career Ready Program can be separated in three parts: Training New People, Upskilling Current Workers, and Putting Modern Day Technology in Schools that better represent the state of the industry.

So how do they accomplish these things? Let’s break it down.

Career Ready in Action

CTMA’s program seeks to support the Canadian Manufacturing Industry by providing non-repayable contributions to eligible employers like Cavalier Tool. These contributions subsidize the wages of both new hires and employees looking to upskill. This reduces risk for employers and opens doors for people to establish themselves in the industry and increase their long-term wage potential.

The program utilizes the Ontario Skills Development Fund (SDF). The SDF provides funds to organizations with innovative ideas for projects that support the hiring, training, or retaining of workers in Ontario.

In July of 2024, The Ontario Government announced the Career Ready program would receive a $5.4 million investment through the SDF to help tackle the province’s labor shortage.

“Career Ready with CTMA is the largest program in the Ontario Skills Development Fund” says Janik “It’s been successful because we’re an accountable program – we’ve shown progress and results.”

Career Ready achieves this accountability in part by setting out Technical Learning Objectives to ensure people engaged in the program are progressing. These objectives represent the soft skills and job-specific skills necessary for an individual to succeed in their new role.

“Funded employers are able to carry out experiential training within their facilities on their terms, to their technical learning outcomes that are important to the company when training their people,” says Janik.

The investment will also go towards putting modern manufacturing technology in high schools across the province. The Career Ready program has already served 130 high schools in Ontario with modern CNC Machinery.

Career Ready at Cavalier

Cavalier is currently employing seven people in the Career Ready program. Six of these were hired in the last year.

Career Ready participants at Cavalier gain hands-on experience with the latest and greatest mold making technology the industry has to offer. Brian Bendig’s commitment to high quality machinery and partnerships with top notch machine suppliers help Cavalier to compete at a high level. This exposure to cutting edge technology sets participants up for a very successful career when they apprentice at Cavalier.

One of Cavalier’s Three Success Pillars is Process, the other two are People and Equipment. Cavalier has built its brand on the ability to produce parts or tooling in a very short period of time. Career Ready with CTMA allows Cavalier to train young people from the ground up. They can mold a future mold maker to do things The Cavalier Way.

 “One of our mottos’ is – understand what needs to be done, do it right the first time, and do it better tomorrow,” Bendig says. “It’s important to us that we have the right people, on the right machines, doing the right thing, at the right time.”

A Career Ready participant excelling in his role at Cavalier is Nathan, a CNC Machinist. Nathan started his journey at Cavalier as an OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) student in 2022. He has been working his way up the ladder through various machines and positions.

Nathan is a great example of the upskilling side of Career Ready’s Wage Subsidy. The young tradesman gained relevant skills through his OYAP placement where he worked in the EDM Department at Cavalier. Now, he’s taking it to the next level via the Career Ready Program. Nathan is currently learning to operate a 5-axis Gundrill. Nathan was also recently nominated by Cavalier for one of CTMA’s 2024 Apprenticeship Awards.

The Career Ready Program pairs participants with a mentor who can train the new hire and support them in meeting their technical objectives. The importance of the trainer in a new hires development can not be understated. Nathan’s trainer, a Gundrill Operator at Cavalier Tool, says it’s a privilege having such a dedicated and enthusiastic young man on the Cavalier Team.

Another Participant at Cavalier is Logan. Logan worked in the detail room making mold components under the supervision of his trainer Rob. He has recently moved from the detail room into tool making.

Rob boasts an impressive 40+ years in the manufacturing industry; 25 of those years he spent at Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ltd. Rob has trained over 70 OYAP Students in his long career.

“Logan shows good awareness and catches on quickly.” says Rob “This is important to us. I have a routine of curriculum I’ve developed but every kid is different; after about a month though they all know what’s going on.”

“Safety is paramount” he says. “You are allowed to make mistakes. The important thing is that you learn from them and do better the next time.”

“I try to get him familiar with all the shop tools that we have,” Rob continued. “I quiz him constantly and I’m sure he hates it, but repetition is key for growth.”

Of the Career Ready Program Rob says, “I think it’s a great program and I think it’s a necessary program for bringing young talent into the company and into the trade in general.”

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